Most of Detroit's core players are locked up to long-term deals: Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince are signed through 2011 while Rip Hamilton is signed through 2010. That's a good thing, as all three are vital to the team's continued success. Rasheed Wallace, on the other hand, is only signed through 2009, which means that next summer he'll be an attractive trade target for a lot of teams looking to acquire salary cap relief via an expiring contract. And considering he's set to make $13.6 million in 2008-09, he could provide a team a lot of relief. Might the Pistons be willing to trade him?
It's certainly possible. While Wallace is still an important member of team right now, he's also one of the most replaceable, at least in terms of having adequate backups waiting in reserve. For example, if Billups went down, there would be a lot of questions as to whether rookie Rodney Stuckey or Flip Murray could handle the starting point guard duties. But if Wallace were lost for any amount of time, the team could still get solid production out of Antonio McDyess (whose contract is also up in 2009), Jason Maxiell or even Amir Johnson.
Rasheed is somewhat of a polarizing figure in Detroit sports, so I'm curious how this idea will be received. Read the rest of it and tell me, am I off-base or might I be onto something?